Maybe It Was Meant To Be
by ColourMeChaos
Summary: The fight in Eclipse has just been and Bella's gone to visit Jacob to  tell him it's over between them-that she's chosen Edward. But her mind starts to wonder and eventually she knows she'll miss the future she could have with Jacob too much to let it go.


**Maybe It Was**

I ran to Jacob's car when my truck stalled halfway there. I wouldn't let a proxy mistake stop me from saying what needed to be said. I was proud that my feet hadn't tripped over themselves once on my way there but when I arrived my heart could have been on fire but that was okay, my heart was always on fire when I saw Jacob so I'd have to get used to it. I reached the door and reluctantly knocked, angry that manners had to get in the way – couldn't I just barge in?

"It's open."

I heard Billy call from where I thought was the kitchen. I ran in and my emotions and determination seemed to be obvious because Billy indicated to Jacob's room with a cheesy smile and encouraging wink. I took breaths to calm myself just outside his door before I peeked into his tiny room. I pushed myself in and tried to hold back whatever was stirring in my stomach – I didn't know what it was, hate? Relief? Anger? - and brought my hand to my mouth in shock. His entire left side was covered in white plaster, sweat moistening all of his body and falling onto his khaki sheets. God. I seemed to shuffle to his side and kneel down beside his bed. I could see a smile struggling around his mouth as he saw me.

"Hey, Bells."

I smiled. His voice sounded no different and if I closed my eyes and forgot about the past year, I could've been walking into his garage for a cosy day with warm sodas and conversation hearts, but here I was in this situation instead.

"Hey, Jake."

I whispered, my voice hoarse and barely there.

"Lay next to me?"

He asked, pleaded. I smiled and shook my head. I knew it was worse to hurt his feelings rather than his injuries but my backward mind worked that way. He raised his eyebrows and grabbed my waist pulling me flush against his right side, his bare skin burning through the think material of my vest. He hisses just a bit at the temporary pain he just inflicted on himself and I frowned at him. Now why'd he have to go on and do that? He just smiled at me.

"Hey, grant a dying man his last wish!"

He said, as if it were obvious and I could hear the 'pssh' at the end of his sentence.

"You're not dying Jacob, you WILL recover."

I said, with a teeny smile.

"Doesn't feel like it."

He sighed looking away as if the fun, happy bit was disappearing. We laid there for a few minutes. I studied his injuries and he seemed to be studying my face, looking at me the way I used to look at Edward – used to. Before my eyes could trail back to his face he started to speak, looking up at the ceiling.

"You know that story in the Bible? The one with the king and the two women fighting over the baby? King Solomon?"

He asked. I traced through my mind and remembered the vague outline of the story that my mother had read out to me when I was younger.

"Sure."

I said.

"Do you remember the part where he said, 'cut the kid in half . . . ' but it was only a test. Just to see who would give up their share to protect it."

He said, reading the blank scriptures in the ceiling. He looked back at me and I nodded.

"I'm not going to cut you in half anymore, Bella. That's what I'm doing. I'm being the noble one and I can see what this is doing to you, having to choose, and so I'm giving up. I care about you so much I'm letting you go. I can handle the clouds, but I can't fight with an Eclipse. I'm the one that loves you more, Bella."

He cradled me in his side and I looked down at the russet skin that, even when it was covered in plaster, still seemed to glow and seep sunshine and warmth and life. I kept my head down and close to his skin.

"But you've already won, Jacob."

I whispered.

"The kiss, the pictures, these memories, they are all RIGHT. They're all how it SHOULD go. What HE said two Septembers ago that made me run to you in the first place, the words in the forest, they were all true. I'm not good for him, we're opposites and we don't match. The two of US do. We're both human."

I murmured into his skin. Finally saying it aloud and feeling proud that it DID make sense and that my mind wasn't warbled in all the ways it could have been felt good. I pressed my lips to his ribs softly,

"It's you."

It was a few more minutes before either of us spoke again and I started to get nervous. What if, after all this time, he didn't love me anymore and he didn't want me? My heart started to pound faster even though I could hear a voice in the back of my had telling me I deserved this and, truthfully I did. I'd hurt them both and now it was my turn to feel the pain and I already was. The tears were burning through my eyes.

"I'll go now.. Bye Jake."

I whispered, my voice cracking just once at the end. I carefully tried to stand up without jostling the bed but do so to no avail as I was pulled back down to his side. His lips were beside my eye in the same second, kissing away the single fallen tear.

"You have no reason to be crying whatsoever, Bella Swan."

**He muttered and without any hesitance, I felt his lips tenderly touch mine. For the first time, it felt RIGHT to be doing this, like it was meant to be. Maybe it was..**

**Authors Note:**

**And that would be the end result of listening to some really amazing songs last night. Took me about an hour to write and so this is just raw material that I haven't done any work on. I'm sorry that the King Solomon passage wasn't word for word as it was in the book but if it was I don't think I'd be able to alternate it to match the ending I wanted. **

**I've just realized now that I haven't written the disclaimer to Stephenie Meyer's characters on either of my other stories so.. CRAP. Would it work if I wrote them on here?**

**Disclaimer to This Won't Be The End: I own nothing, 'tis ALL Stephenie Meyer's.**

**Disclaimer to 108 Degrees: I own nothing, 'tis ALL Stephenie Meyer's.**

**Disclaimer to Broken To Be Fixed: I own nothing, 'tis ALL Stephenie Meyer's.**

**Disclaimer to Maybe It Was: I own nothing, 'tis ALL Stephenie Meyer's.**

**Will that suffice? I hope so! Thanks for reading this, deeply appreciated, like it always is, but you know what I would deeply appreciate even more? A review! Do review please, I'd love it a lot and it would make Christmas just that bit more enjoyable!**

**Speaking of, only 12 more sleeps to go! Whoop!**

**Thank you ever so much, yours sincerely, **

**ColourMeChaos :) x**


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